Wednesday, 26 December 2012

Crane Safety Systems- Important aspect in many industries!

To help lift and transport heavy goods around your workshop, if you have a large warehouse space (or small in some cases) and are looking for an overhead crane, do not waste your money! You work hard for your money so to order crane that might end up costing you an arm and a leg (not literally speaking) and why waste unnecessary amounts of expenditure on a brand new made. For the crane to be manufactured and installed, you may find you also have a long lead time. At the same time, crane safety also needs to be kept in mind.

From the date of ordering, used overhead cranes are in stock and can be installed in less than one week. To fit your building of choice, most dealers can modify the span of cranes. Testing and certifying the crane for its purpose, they can then install and at the same time keeping in mind crane safety. To be tested or conform to technical lifting standards that are unique to the kind of product, all lifting equipment and crane products are required. Where a crane or hoist requires a thorough examination and proof load testing, slings and shackles require only confirming to testing regulations.

To production lines and factory floors where loads up to five tonnes need to be lifted and moved in close proximity, used Jib Cranes are an advantage, as for precise hoisting and lowering of the load, a jib crane is usually floor standing featuring an electric chain hoist. To load heavy items into a lathe or to pick up heavy components in a production line, jib cranes are mostly used. With a used crane system, used electric hoists are often complete. It the device used for hoisting and handling of the load and they run along the crane beam. For applications where the operator is remote from the crane, this is usually controlled by a wired pendant control or radio remote, this can be for safety reasons or personal preference.

Making the necessary modifications to the crane bridge and reassembling after ensuring that no poor quality welds have been made and that the crane is fit for purpose, when modifying an overhead crane the dealer will remove the hoist and end carriages from the gantry. The hoist is wired up to the control box and the end carriages are then bolted back on. The crane is now ready for install, once this process is complete (if required). Load cells are also very important in a crane for the safety point of view. There are a certain amount of factors for consideration, when installing an overhead crane. This will help to keep everyone safe at a job site.
For further more information about:- crane safety | Load cells

Most common crane accidents and tips to avoid them

The Operating cranes and other lifting equipment has particularly become a very common practice in many industrial contexts as electronic cranes are widely used in various construction and factory sites throughout the world. The increased volume of the traffic, of the surface of the working areas and of the amount of the loads in order to profit from the economies of scale means that these handling machines deal with the several hundred of the weights every day. With an increasing use of the cranes, comes an ever higher number of the probable crane accidents, that in the best scenario result in production delays and in the worst ones lead to the loss of the precious human lives.

The various researches, surveys and recent studies show that the main cause for the crane accidents during crane operation is lack of stability. This can be caused for a number of reasons such as the surface where the crane is particularly positioned not being uniform, the load to be lifted is exceeding the weight or size of the crane is actually able to handle, or the cranes hoist not being positioned at the gravity centre of the load. For measuring the crane’s load maximum load capacity, a crane limit switch is being inserted in all modern electronic cranes that are being manufactured in recent times.
Incidents that result in the loss of the precious human lives while operating the heavy handling machinery are in the majority of the cases due to cases of electrocution. The proper installation and dismantling of the cranes parts are also a frequent cause for these tragic events, as are crane components falling because of the faulty set up procedures.

In the particular case of the quays and the commercial ports, the accidents related to the crane operation in container terminals represent as much as 30% of the entire asset costs. The most common cause of asset damage in such contexts is the impact between the booms and the ships from which the loads are taken. Other frequent problems are related to the hoists, ropes, chains and the spreaders which not being at their best condition and to defective communication systems between the employees.

Lifting procedures do in fact involve the several professional profiles among which the supervisor, the driver or the operator of the crane and the people responsible for crane and load position warning signals. It is particularly indispensable that these people receive the proper training and the certifications before ever entering the load handling site, as well as an efficient communication method that allows them to exchange the required information and the warnings while avoiding the coordination problems between the equipment, the people and the surrounding area. The rotary limit switches are also one of the major components of the electronic cranes to avoid unfortunate crane accidents.
For further more information about:- crane accidents | crane limit switch

Various kinds of Crane scales and their uses

With the passing time and the constant changes in the modern technology, all types of the weighing equipment have come particularly a long way from the original, see saw type of weighing. ten years ago, a crane scale would have been similar to a large dial type scale which is full of springs and levers. Modern weighing equipment particularly consists of the latest, cutting edge materials and the microchip processors. At the heart of any electronic crane scale is a crane load cell. This is basically a block of the alloy or steel which draws the required power from the circuit board and, in return, gives a mill volt signal which is particularly processed and gives an accurate reading to the display. The Crane scales are very strategically engineered for all the types of industrial applications and can be readily found in all types of the factories and industrial applications today.

The outer shell is generally constructed from the industrial grade steel or the heavy duty aluminium, which provides very good durability and ultimate protection to the electronic crane scale. The outer shell construction very particularly depends on the capacity of the weighing scale and also its various applications. The small capacity scales for the general industrial use are primarily prepared from the aluminium, the high capacity scales tend to be made from a more heavy duty, steel construction.

The electronic Crane scales are also particularly found in many industrial foundries and are readily supplied with a heat guard to deflect the heat and to protect the scale. As with most of the weighing scales, the two major types of the display are used. The LCD (liquid crystal display) which is very easy to read in the direct sun light and ideal for outdoor use or LED (light emitting diode) are used for the indoors. The LCD displays come with a built in back light for the convenience of use. The power is supplied via an internal rechargeable battery, with today's technology which can give from 10 to 60 hours minimum battery life when continuously working. The LCD display crane scales draw the far less power from the batter and give a greater working life before the need for its next charge. Most of the crane scales have an auto shut function to help conserve on the power.

The modern electronic crane scales offer many excellent features to allow the user to achieve the good dynamic weighing performance, not subjected to the influence of swaying, a built in filter enables the user to adjust the stability depending on the particular application. You are also able to switch the display from kg's to Lbs and also hold the display on a particular weight. There are various capacities and resolutions to choose from. The position sensing is another great feature of the electronic cranes.

Process of operating the Overhead Cranes safely

Their toil would have been greatly eased if only they had the fair advantage of the modern technology. Although, how they are accomplished the particularly unbelievable task and certainly remains a mystery; the modern construction industry has a particularly straightforward solution to it in the form of an overhead crane which is a specialized crane particularly designed to lift the heavy material very efficiently and also safely. The crane limit switch is an integral part of the overall overhead crane safety and the security program of any industry to maintain the level of the required efficiency of its manufacturing as well as the maintenance operations.

The Overhead cranes have a particularly simplified design and a unique structure with a railed bridge and a hoist, the part which actually lifts the heavy loads and also runs across the bridge in an efficient manner. The Overhead cranes are primarily used to efficiently and conveniently handle the heavy material in the manufacturing and the transport industries. They have the applications in a wide range of the various industries including the booming steel industry, automobile industry, and the paper mills as well. Using them usually turns out to be more economical as they make the use of the mobile cranes non-essential. There are many types of the overhead cranes. Thus, the overhead crane safety is of prime importance. Some commonly used examples are the bridge cranes, the gantry cranes, container cranes, jib cranes, etc. Commonly these cranes are operated with the radio controls. However those cranes that use very heavy loads or operate at a high speed and are normally cabin controlled.

It is very important that utmost care be taken while operating these weight-lifters. An incorrect or careless handling can lead to very serious accidents and cause damage not only to property but also to human life in a big way. And therefore it is very important to follow the safety guidelines for operating the overhead cranes. It is also essential for the crane operators as well as the inspectors to undergo extensive and rigorous training before joining this particular profession. Basically, an overhead crane is very strategically designed to handle a certain amount of weight very securely. Anything beyond that is inviting trouble for sure. Therefore it should never be forced to perform beyond its safety limits to maintain the proper balance or the collision avoidance. The cranes bridge component should clearly and particularly indicate the load limits of the crane. The load limiter is an important component of the crane operations. There should be an arrangement to make some signal or sound like the sirens, etc. before every attempt of lifting the heavy loads. Utmost care should also be taken while moving a load as doing so too hastily or quickly can cause the imbalance and the crane may lean or sway resulting in the losing control of the heavy load it is carrying.

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

How to Operate the Overhead Crane Safely

Overhead cranes are the machines that are used in most industries for carrying very heavy loads from one place to another. These machines are very efficient and built in a way that makes them an excellent choice for handling those time consuming and monotonous jobs of lifting loads. Since these cannot be done by using manual labor, an overhead crane becomes an indispensible part of modern industrial work environment. Overhead cranes are prone to accidents and cause heavy damage to property and life and therefore it is imperative that proper overhead crane safety is followed while working with these machines.

To eliminate the risk of these accidents to some extent it is important to give proper training to the overhead crane operators. A well-trained crane operator can handle emergencies in a much efficient way. And this certainly has brought the number of accidents down in the industries related to cranes lifting heavy material.

Crane operators should diligently follow many other guidelines for the safety of their own life and the machines themselves. One of the most important one is to always undergo a complete check-up of the machinery before using them to lift heavy loads. They should be thoroughly inspected for leaks, cracks or corrosions. They should be repaired immediately if found to be having any problems and even smallest of hitches in their workings should never be ignored or discarded as being unimportant as even those can turn out be very costly and cause damage beyond consideration.

One thing has been found time and again that it is due to lack of any proper guiding system that the crane operators fall vulnerable to these accidents. If there was some kind of a signalling system in place, most of these accidents could have been avoided from happening altogether.

A load limiter is a sophisticated device that keeps check on the amount of load put on an overhead crane by indicating as soon as it is in excess and stopping the operation immediately when that happens. This prevents the possibility of an operating loading the overhead crane beyond its maximum capacity and thus is very useful in preventing any mishaps from occurring while load transfer is taking place in an industry. There are many other types of devices manufactured these days for the safety of crane operators.

Collision avoidance is also an important part of the overall safeguard system in these crane operations and can be achieved with the help of effective equipments and some safety precautions on the part of the operating workers. It is never too late to learn the safety measures and it should become an integral part of the overall training of the concerned workers and supervisors in any industry.

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Top Reasons behind Overhead Crane Accidents and How to Avoid Them

Overhead crane accidents are common occurrences and the reasons behind them are not so hidden anymore. Research has shown that these accidents happen primarily due to a lack of warning about the crossing of the load limits of the cranes. This tips the balance of the cranes and causes them to either collapse or break-down dropping the heavy load they are carrying to the grounds. Sophisticated devices including crane load cell or electronic crane scale have been devised to overcome this problem to quite some extent.

So what do these ultra-modern devices do? They basically have the main responsibility to check the load being carried by the overhead cranes and measure it in order to decide if it is not beyond the capacity of the crane. Many types of safety systems have been prepared for safeguarding the interest of crane operators. A crane load cell is one of the most commonly used equipment. It has a sophisticated system in place called position sensing that accurately senses and offers exact data about the weight and positioning of the load being carried.

The various kinds of load cells being used in the industry are compression load cells, beam load cells, tension load cells, etc. There is another kind of device used to provide the crane operator precise data of the angle of the boom in an overhead crane. These types of sensors are called angles sensors and they have a digital encoder that accurately provides the information about the extent and position of the load being carried by the overhead crane.

Besides these equipments there is also a human factor involved that can be very crucial in the overall safety and security of the overhead crane functioning and thereby safeguarding the welfare of the industrial labourers, supervisors and inspectors alike. This factor is the education and training that is required to be imparted to the workers who come in direct contact with these heavy duty machineries on a daily basis.

Many times, lack of knowledge of the various precautionary measures to be taken and also about what to do if an emergency arises is the main culprit behind these workers’ panicking in such situations. If proper training is provided about the safety measures before and after a mishap and the importance of checking and rechecking the equipments every single time they are to be used for carrying massive loads, most of these unfortunate incidents can be completely avoided.

Machines are created, used and operated by living human beings. If they are to function well and in a safe and trouble-free manner then it is the responsibility of the people engaged in those operations to be well-informed about the workings and handling of these machines. This is the only way to make them keep working for a long time and in a safe manner.

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An Overview of the Overhead Cranes and their Safety

Cranes are an integral part of modern industrial units that need machines to life very heavy loads and carry them from one place to another. Various industries make use of these load carriers for their unique individual purposes. These industries are prone to crane accidents if not operated with care and caution. Since they deal with very massive loads, even a small imbalance in them can cause them break and this can result in heavy damage to property and life.

Although the primary function of any crane is to lift and carry heavy burdens without the use of manual labor, there are distinct types of cranes used for different purposes. These different cranes have differing structures and designs. They also vary in their capacity of lifting weights and where and how they are used. Every crane is not suitable for every purpose and therefore they are designed to suit their exact function in a particular industry.

Three basic types of cranes are used according to the particular type of requirements in the industry. These three types are overhead cranes, mobile cranes and stationary cranes. These cranes are used in various places such as in industries, transportation, construction, harbors and ports, etc.

The overhead cranes are used in various industries such as the manufacturing, transport, steel, paper, etc. These cranes are also called bridge cranes. The three main parts of these cranes are a bridge, a runway and a hoist. As the name suggests, these cranes travel overhead along a horizontal path.

These cranes need to be handled by skilled laborers or else they have a tendency to falter and break-down under the massive pressure of the burdens put on them. Although the overhead cranes are sturdily built and have a capability of carrying enormous loads beyond any human capacity, they should not be overused or overworked under the faulty impression of being more efficient or faster.

There are many sophisticated equipments nowadays in the safety bag of a trained industrial worker. Most of the unfortunate crane accidents can be avoided using such devices as crane limit switch or rotary limit switches. There are many types of devices including the load cells such as compression load cells, beam load cells, tension load cells, etc. Other devices used are electronic crane scale, load momentum indicator, load monitors, wind speed indicators, boom angle indicators, etc.

The overhead crane operators have a range of devices available to help them maintain high security standards under the demanding material handling conditions such as carrying hefty loads using overhead cranes. It is vitally important though that the overhead crane operator is knowledgeable about the workings and operations of these devices in particular as well as the overall safety measures regarding the overhead cranes in general. This can go a long way in keeping the industrial environment safe and trouble free.

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